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punitivo

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Etymology and origin of the Portuguese word punitivo

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1569 a text edited in the journal Studia More words from the 16th century
Ultimate origin
Latin poena

Pronunciation

  • Brazil: /pu.niˈt͡ʃi.vu/[1]
  • Portugal: /pu.niˈti.vu/[1]
  • Northern, Portugal: /pu.niˈti.bu/, [pu.niˈti.βu][1]

Forms

punitivo (feminine punitiva, masculine plural punitivos, feminine plural punitivas)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Portuguese punir + -ivo, with the verb in the shape of the past participle of its source, Latin pūnītus.[2][3][4] Aurélio and Porto Editora analyse it as the verb with the suffix -tivo, and Porto Editora also allows a borrowing from French.[5][6] Wiktionary takes it as a borrowing of French punitif, which is from Medieval Latin pūnītīvus.[1]

The Latin verb pūniō (“to punish”) is formed from poena (“punishment, penalty”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cunha's addenda and Houaiss date the first record to 1569, in a text edited in the journal Studia; the main article of Cunha has only the 17th century.[7][2] The sense was "inflicting punishment" from the start.[2]

Semantic evolution

Vieira's dictionary of 1871–1874 defines it as "that punishes, that imposes a penalty", with the example justiça punitiva "punitive justice".[8] The original Caldas Aulete adds "that serves as a punishment, that involves punishment".[9] Houaiss distinguishes the senses "relating to punishment", "that leads to or contains punishment" and "that punishes as a rule".[2] Wiktionary labels it a legal and military term.[1]

Timeline

  • 1569 – first record, in a text edited in Studia.[7][2]
  • 1600s – Cunha's main article dates the word to the 17th century.[7]
  • 1871–1874 – Vieira enters it with the phrase justiça punitiva.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Relating to punishment (punição).[2][9]
  2. That punishes or is meant to punish; punitive: uma lei punitiva.[2][4][1]
  3. That involves or contains punishment.[5][10]
  4. (figurative) That suggests punishment.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. punitivo
  3. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. punitivo
  4. ^ a b Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. punitivo
  5. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. punitivo
  6. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 7604
  7. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. punir
  8. ^ a b Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 4, 1025
  9. ^ a b c Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. punitivo
  10. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. punitivo
Cite this entry

“Punitivo.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/pt/punitivo. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

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